Picture frame



g- 22, 11967 A. w; MILLER 3,336,689

I PICTURE FRAME Filed Oct 15, 1964 FIG. 1

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INVENTUR A RTf/UR MLLHM fiflllf/x M,Z/MYW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,336,689 PICTURE FRAME Arthur William Miller, Kenepuru Drive, Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand Filed Oct. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 403,561 Claims priority, application New Zealand, Oct. 17, 1963,

Claims. (Cl. 40152) This invention relates to an improved picture frame.

A picture frame is an article usually consisting of four Wooden edge mouldings having mitred ends which are nailed together to form a rectangular frame. This frame is' then glazed and a picture, photograph, painting or other object to be displayed placed behind the glass and a backing member placed behind the picture, this backing member being held in place by adhesive paper, nails and similar fixing devices. It is to be understood that the term picture wherever used in this specification is intended to include any of the objects which can be mounted in a picture frame. When pictures are either sold or packaged for forwarding, for instance, by mail to the recipient it is often not practical to include with the article a frame because of the excessive bulk of the package. It is then necessary for the recipient either to buy or to have a frame made and of course it often happens that this is not done so that the picture is put away and not displayed as intended.

This led to the introduction of a demountable form of picture frame whereby the frame could be bought in a demounted form so that the recipient could assemble the frame after having received the package for instance through the mail;

The two main disadvantages of this form of demountable frame consist firstly in that the mitred ends had to be nailed together, this being a task almost impossible to undertake satisfactorily unless some form of jig is used. Further of course it was not possible to include the glazing material with the frame pieces, while if the picture was placed in an unglazed frame the finished article lacked the necessary quality appearance.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved picture frame which can be readily assembled without the use of any tools or other equipment to form a permanent and complete frame but which can also be disassembled if and when required.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a means whereby the picture has an illusion of being glazed when in the frame.

Accordingly the invention comprises an improved picture frame consisting of a plurality of rails and an equivalent number of wedges, wherein each rail has its two ends mitred and has a slot formed in each of such mitred ends to receive and retain one half of a wedge so that a frame can be formed from the rails with one wedge joining each joint.

The invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of an assembled picture frame.

FIGURE 2 is a view of one of the rails but drawn to a larger scale than that shown in FIGURE 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow A as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a view of the rail shown in FIGURE 2 when seen from the underside.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of one form of wedge used to join the mitred ends of the rails.

Referring to the drawings, the frame consists of four rails referenced 5, 6, 7 and 8 respectively. These rails can be of any desired cross sectional shape and composition to present a moulded visible surface as is known in the art. A rebate 9 is formed along the full lengths of the inside perimeter of each of the rails 5, 6, 7 and 8. The ends 10 of each rail are mitred in a known manner so that when the 3,336,689 Patented Aug. 22, 1967 rails are placed together they will form a rectangular frame.

The ends of the rails are joined together by means of a Wedge referenced generally at 11 and shown particulanly in FIGURE 4. The wedge, which can be formed from a suitable plastic, when looked at in plan view, is roughly of a spool shape having its ends 12 splayed as shown, these ends being joined to a central trunk 13 of lesser thickness than the ends 12. Preferably the upper face 14 of the wedge 11 is rounded, while the sides of the Wedge taper so that the thickness of the wedge is less near the upper face 14 than the lower face 14a. A slot 15 as can be seen particularly in FIGURE 3, is formed in each mitred end 10, the slot 15 corresponding in shape to one half of the wedge 11, so that when a wedge is inserted into the slot 15 as shown in FIGURE 3, one half of the wedge 11 will project out of the slot. The size of the wedge 11 and the slot 15 is arranged so that the upper face 14 of the wedge can be inserted into a slot and pushed inwards and during such inwards movement the wedge will be progressively tightened until the wedge is fully home. In this position the lower face 14a will be flush with the undersurface of the rail as shown in FIGURE 2.

In a modification of the invention, the sides of the wedge 11 are parallel but the sides of the slot taper from the entry of the said slot to the root of the slot.

A rectangular frame can be formed by first inserting a wedge 11 into each of the slots 15 on the mitred ends 10 of two opposite rails such as for instance the rails 6 and 8. Norm-ally during production of the rails, a wedge 11 is inserted into each slot 15 in each of two opposite rails and glued in place, so that the wedges will remain permanently in place therein. The frame can then be assembled by placing the four rails roughly in the correct position face up on a flat surface and by taking the rail 5 and locating the slot 15 over the wedge 11 projecting from the mitred end 10 of the rail 6 and carefully pushing the rail 5 downwards until the mitred joints are the correct match. The rounded upper face 14 will aid the entry of the wedges 11 into the slots 15 thereby enabling the four mitred ends of the frame to be joined, resulting in a rigid rectangular frame.

Means are provided for holding a picture in the frame, this means consisting of the rebate 9, which as before described is on the inside perimeter of the frame, and by pressure members such as those indicated at 16 in FIGURES 2 and 3. The members 16 are shown in the drawings as being basically in the form of hoops which are pinned to the rebate 9 and spaced from the shoulder 17 of each rail a sufficient distance to allow the insertion between the shoulder 17 and the members 16 of a picture referenced 18 in FIGURE 2. Normally before the rails are assembled into a frame, the members are bent as shown at 16a so as to lie against the rebate 9. This will allow sufliicient clearance for the picture 18 to be placed against the shoulder 17 whereupon the members 16a can be bent downwards to the position shown at 16 and so hold the picture 18 firmly against the shoulder 17. It will be understood that though the members 16 are shown in the drawings to be in the form of hoops which are preferably of a non-ferrous material, the members can be any other desired shape or may even be pins or have any action such as spring clips and the like as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

It is necessary to give the picture a finished appearance to glaze the object so that glass need not be used. A preferred method of glazing consists in attaching the picture face down on to a sheet of rigid, clear plastic and passing the object through heated calender rolls to ensure a firm, bubble free bond between the picture and the plastic. One type of plastic particularly suitable is rigid clear polyvinylchloride which provides a rigid picture and yet will allow it to be rolled up into a cylinder for transportation. It is also preferred that a backing be given to the picture of another form of plastic sheet such as acetate or polyvinylchloride which can be clear or opaque. The picture to be placed in the frame will then have a substantial thickness so that when it is unrolled into a flat position it will retain such position without buckling. The clear plastic on the face of the picture should have a highly glazed or gloss surface to give the picture when it is in the frame, the appearance of being glazed with glass. It will also be apparent that if desired a mount can be interleaved between the picture and the frame so that the picture does not occupy the full area of the frame in a known manner.

Although the foregoing description has been confined to a rectangular frame it is to be understood that the invention will apply equally well to any frame of polygonal shape.

By reason of this invention a picture frame is formed which may be readily assembled without the use of any tools and which will provide a neat finished appearance. It will also be understood that the picture may be removed and the frame can be readily dismantled at any time for transporting to another location or for replac ing the picture with some other object.

I claim:

1. An improved picture frame, consisting of a plurality of rails and an equivalent number of wedges. wherein each rail has its two ends mitred and has a slot formed in each of such mitred ends to receive and retain one half of a wedge so that a frame can be formed from the rails with one wedge joining each joint, each of said slots and the half wedge received therein being in substantially mated relationship but having a flaring relationship in the relative widths, with the slot being greater in width across the point of entry than the leading end of the half Wedge as it enters the slot and with the half wedge and slot having side walls which are tightly pressed together as the half wedge is fully received within the slot whereby the wedge is securely wedged in position and the two mitred ends are forced together by the entry of the wedge into its slots.

2. A frame as described in claim 1 wherein each half of each of said wedges has a rounded nose portion which is the leading portion when it enters its slot.

3. A frame as described in claim 1 wherein said wedges are of plastic with two identical wedge portions interconnected by a trunk portion.

4. A frame as described in claim 1 which is rectangular, a picture assembly positioned within said frame, and means holding said picture assembly securely in said frame.

5. In a frame structure of the character described, a pair of rails having mitred ends which are fitted together, each of said rails having a slot formed in its mitred end with said slots in alignment so as to comprise a composite slot having a central portion which extends substantially transversely of said mitred ends and a pair of enlarged anchor-receiving end portions, each of said anchor-receiving portions having side walls which flare in the direction away from said central portion, and a wedge positioned within said composite slot and having a central portion and two end anchor portions corresponding respectively to portions of said composite slot, said wedge having side walls which are tapered so as to permit said wedge to enter said composite slot and upon moving to the bottom of said slot to be tightly nested therein whereby the two mitred ends are forced together and said wedge is securely held in place.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,071,226 8/1913 Goodsell et al. 40l35 X 1,754,814 4/1930 Budd 40156 2,974,057 3/1961 Adams 11712 3,218,747 11/1965 Cornfield 40-152 X FOREIGN PATENTS 11,134 6/1894 Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN IMPROVED PICTURE FRAME, CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OF RAILS AND AN EQUIVALENT NUMBER OF WEDGES, WHEREIN EACH RAIL HAS ITS TWO ENDS MITRED AND HAS A SLOT FORMED IN EACH OF SUCH MITRED ENDS TO RECEIVE AND RETAIN ONE HALF OF A WEDGE SO THAT A FRAME CAN BE FORMED FROM THE RAILS WITH ONE WEDGE JOINING EACH JOINT, EACH OF SAID SLOTS AND THE HALF WEDGE RECEIVED THEREIN BEING IN SUBSTANTIALLY MATED RELATIONSHIP BUT HAVING A FLARING RELATIONSHIP IN THE RELATIVE WIDTHS, WITH THE SLOT BEING GREATER IN WIDTH ACROSS THE POINT OF ENTRY THAN THE LEADING END OF THE HALF WEDGE AS ITS ENTERS THE SLOT AND WITH THE HALF WEDGE AND SLOT HAVING SIDE WALLS WHICH ARE TIGHTLY PRESSED TOGETHER AS THE HALF WEDGE IS FULLY RECEIVED WITHIN THE SLOT WHEREBY THE WEDGE IS SECURELY WEDGED IN POSITION AND THE TWO MITRED ENDS ARE FORCED TOGETHER BY THE ENTRY OF THE WEDGE INTO ITS SLOTS. 